


Sticky Situations

by Thedis



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/F, Mutual Pining, Other, anyway, can you believe im writing my own name with a (Pokémon) behind it oh man howd i get here, ill add tags as i go along i suppose, im a fool im nb im an archeologist and i love piers what more is there to say, marnie and gloria are mentioned as a couple in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22790092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thedis/pseuds/Thedis
Summary: The new Champion has plenty of plans for Galar, plenty of Ghost Pokémon and plenty of feelings for Piers.Piers has mild to severe anxiety, more free time as an ex-gym leader and a crush on the new Champion.Both have communication issues, and are about to have the time of their lives.
Relationships: Mary | Marnie/Yuuri | Gloria, Nezu | Piers (Pokemon)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 22





	Sticky Situations

_Theda, I think I understand why you became the champion._  
_But... please don't go callin' me anymore. Seems like I'm only gettin' called out when you're in some sticky situation._

The line crackled with a single drawn out sigh.  
"Geez, Theda. Thought I told you not to ring me again."  
Another sigh, short this time.   
"Right then, what's poppin'?"  
  
Piers' voice sounded lethargic and a little hoarse, which was typical of him, but the champion couldn't help wondering if perhaps they had woken him up.   
Absentmindedly, they began curling a strand of pink around their finger.  
  
"Uhm, actually, about that. And by that I mean, about you always helping out."  
"Yeah, don't mention it."  
"It's just that I felt I should at least, you know. Buy you coffee, as thanks. Only if you like, of course. No 'sticky situations' either, promise."  
  
The small silence that followed was an eternity cut into heartbeats, and Theda hated every second.  
"Tell you what," said Piers, finally, "I've kinda got my hands full here what with the gig tonight, so why don't you drop by for the tunes an' we can have a cuppa afterwards? I wouldn't mind a break. Spikemuth may not have any of them fancy restaurants, but I know a guy."  
  
As the words began to soak in, a relieved smile spread on the champion's face.  
"Yes! Yes, gladly, that sounds great."  
  
Piers chuckled.  
"Well, now I almost feel sorry for hypin' you up. But I'll see what I can do, make the place a little prettier an' all. Just know I'll be expecting you to cheer extra hard in return, yeah?"  
Nodding at nobody, Theda grinned.  
"If that's what it takes, you can count on me."  
"Heh, I will. Be seein' you, Theda."

Theda cursed under their breath as they hopped off their Corviknight, called it back into its Pokéball and immediately ran for what a generous person might have called Spikemuth's front gate.  
Babie, who had been with them since he had been a Rookidee on Route One, had done his utmost to brave the unrelenting turbulence which experts - Sonia - suspected to be part of the aftermath of what had nearly become the second darkest day.In spite of his efforts, Theda and their team were now more than fashionably late, which went to show that even leaving an hour early didn't protect one from a tantrum of the universe.  
  
The beat that had followed them into the city from just outside, subdued at first, was growing stronger with every neon lit house Theda left behind them, soon it was joined by guitars and finally, the champion was standing out of breath in the modest hall that also held the stage, and was as of now absolutely stuffed with Team Yell members. Everything and everyone inside was enveloped in the music, dozens of bodies swaying in the rhythm and singing along to the tune.  
  
And there he was, stomping his foot to the beat of the song that seemed to play him as much as he played it, the spotlight catching in his wild hair and making his pale skin look even more like porcelain, an illusion broken only by the light flush and sheen of sweat glistening on his cheeks.  
Piers' slender fingers were closed around the mic, his lips brushed against the rough surface as he sang.   
His eyes, when they weren't clenched shut in emotion, seemed to roam the crowd like a turquoise spotlight of their own until, by chance or something else, they met Theda's and time stood still. A sunny grin spread on his face, the likes of which the champion had only seen him smile once or twice, the kind that seemed to take all tension from his slumped shoulders and bask the whole room in his comfort.

When the next line dropped, Piers hit it with one hundred and ten percent, and the crowd went wild. Theda found their voice joining in the chorus of the people around them, their fist in the air among a city's worth of others as the music took them over.

With the music gone and the lights back on, suddenly the sticky proximity of the concert goers had lost its magic, and Theda was becoming increasingly stressed by the way the people around them knocked them about ever so gently as they talked to their friends or began to go their respective ways.   
After about five minutes of sweaty and all too physical post-concert chaos defined by the crowd's attempts to flood the stage and possibly kiss the performers, Theda had decided to join the stream of humans leading away from the stage rather than wait for Piers to pick them up. The city's back yard which Marnie had once shown them as a secret passageway turned out to be the perfect place to treat their Corviknight to some well earned berries in peace and quiet, accompanied only by the evening breeze - all that remained of the earlier storm - the veils of warm colours the setting sun was spreading over the land and a faint smell of grass.

The kaleidoscope of melodies Theda had heard tonight sounded weak out of their own mouth, but they still found themselves nodding along and tapping their foot with the beat still in mind, while Babie seemed positively thrilled, cawing and flapping his wings at the high notes. It was truly the least they could do after flying him through nothing short of a hurricane and then stashing him away so unceremoniously.  
  
A metallic clang meters behind them made Theda yelp and startle hard enough to lose balance against their Pokémon, slip and land on their butt.  
Babie immediately straightened up and flapped his wings protectively over his trainer.  
  
"Ah, bugger. Sorry," mumbled Piers, watching the empty tin rolling away from his feet.  
"I, um. I didn't know you sang."  
Theda's heart missed a beat and as the former gym leader offered them his hand, for a moment they only stared at it before letting him pull them back on their feet, all under the watchful eye of their Corviknight.  
Once up, Theda cleared their throat, dusting off their jacket to have somewhere to look other than Piers. No doubt their face was on fire.  
  
"How, uh, how much did you hear?"  
"Nothin' beyond the last few measures." His flustered countenance turned into a small, but genuine smile.  
"Beautiful, that was."  
They waved it off with an uneasy laugh.   
"Now you're just flattering me. You're a rockstar, I only sing for fun when I'm alone. Well, or with Babie. He seems to like it."  
The champion gave their Corviknight a loving beak scratch, which he returned with a joyous caw.

"We got similar taste, then, him and me. Speakin' of taste..."  
Piers nodded over his shoulder.  
"Ready to head back in? Crowd should have dispersed by now, I wager."  
  
Oh, right. Coffee.  
  
"Sure! Let me just wrap things up."  
Theda gave Babie a last cheek scratch before calling him back into his Pokéball and followed Piers back inside.

"Doesn't trust me, that Corviknight of yours," he stated as they walked.  
"Yeah, Babie's the careful type, but he's also social and extremely sweet. He likes your music, he's gonna like you. In time."  
Piers grinned down at the champion.  
"Babie, huh?"  
Theda returned his gaze with something akin to a pout.   
"Try telling me it doesn't fit."  
"Nah," chuckled Piers, "it does. He your partner?"  
"Well, not technically, no. He's been with me the longest, though, so we're very close."  
"I could tell."

Spikemuth, for all its charms, was not a big city and so it didn't take long before Piers stopped, opened a door and waved Theda through.  
Instead of a Café, however, they found a fairly dark hallway the likes of which tended to appear in horror movies.  
  
"Piers? I can't really see. Are we on the right track?"  
"Yeah, it's just we don't have power everywhere in the city. It's a bit-"  
"Ouch!"  
"Whoa, you okay, Theda?"  
"Yeah, just... Still can't see anything."  
"Just keep movin' forward, I'll be right behind you. Trust me."  
Theda's fingertips found a wall and followed it as they cautiously proceeded, one step after the other.  
"Piers? I think I can see a light."  
The voice from behind suddenly sounded grave.   
"Oh no. This is real bad."  
Their eyes went wide, to no avail.   
"What? What is it?"  
"I think you might be dyin'."  
The relief got a curt laugh out of the champion.   
"Dammit, Piers! If I could see anything right now, I would elbow you so-"

Their threat was cut short by the end of the tunnel. Theda had stepped out into a small courtyard, and the sight surrounding them left them speechless.   
Between the grubby facades a net had been spun, half a dozen strings of fairy lights holding golden droplets against the darkness overhead.  
Their shine fell warmly onto several arrangements of each one table and two chairs, charmingly mismatched.  
Each tabletop was gently illuminated by a single tea candle on a pink napkin - it was so beautiful that the champion struggled to find words.  
  
"Wow, you... You really went to town. I was supposed to treat you as thanks, and you pull off all this."  
Piers scratched his neck.   
"Sorry. I tend to get carried away."  
  
He strolled over to a nearby table and the two took a seat, Theda in a surprisingly clean armchair and Piers on what seemed to be half an oil tank with a pillow ontop.  
  
"Well, I can hardly one-up you now. May I still treat you?"  
Piers rested his head on one hand, while the other had begun busying itself with his choker.   
"Sure, you can try. But I'll doubt they'll let us pay at all."  
  
"Damn right!"  
  
A Team Yell member had built himself up next to their table, more on the stocky side with the signature Mohawk, but wearing a frilly, light pink apron over his otherwise standard uniform. The volume of his voice, however, remained faithful to the Team name.   
"I'm here to take your orders, got it? Everything's on the house for Piers and the champion!"  
The ex-gym leader gave an exasperated sigh, but the corner of his mouth hinted at a smirk.  
"Didn't you forget somethin' there? A teeny tiny step?"  
"Oh, blimey! I'm so sorry."  
The waiter hurried over to what looked like a bar built from wooden crates, reached under it and promptly returned with two sheets of paper.  
As they accepted theirs, the champion met him with a sincerely delighted smile.  
"Thank you. I love your apron!"  
"Thanks! Real nice, isn't it?"  
"Absolutely. Pink is a great color on you."  
"You heard that, Piers? The champion said they like my outfit!"  
The waiter's chest was swelling with pride, the smile on his face ran nearly ear to ear and even rubbed off a little on Piers.   
"They sure did. I'd compliment it too, you know, if I weren't worried you'd faint."  
He was teasing, but from what they had seen so far, Piers might just as well have been serious. The Team Yell member seemed pretty aware of that himself.   
"Right, gotcha! I'll leave you to it," he declared with a nod that held as much earnestness as enthusiasm, and returned behind the bar.

The menu was handwritten, a bit messily, with endearingly amateurish little doodles next to each of the fairly numerous options. Given the circumstances, the variety was quite impressive.   
"You guys got milkshakes?"  
"Yup. I ran into a Milcery on my way to Turffield the other time. Caught it an' gave it to my friend who you just met. He's wanted a Milcery for a while now and loves it to bits. Guess that's why his milkshakes are so good."  
Theda lowered their menu to amusedly raise an eyebrow at their friend.   
"Do you get every person in Spikemuth a Pokémon?"  
Piers fiddled with his pendant and gave a light laugh.   
"It's startin' to look like that, innit?"  
They returned his smile.  
"Never said it was a bad thing."  
With a sigh, they set down the menu and caught Piers' eye.   
"I... I don't think I can make this choice on my own. Would you mind if I, uh, summoned my consultant?"  
"Sure, knock yourself out. You don't have to be so formal all the time, y'know? I won't bite or anythin.'"   
Theda feigned ponderation as they excavated the Pokéball from their bag.   
"You don't? Then what's the collar for?"  
Piers' grin acquired a fiendish touch.  
"Why, to keep my power under control, of course."  
"Right," laughed the champion, "dumb question."

With a flash of blue light, a small, pink Pokémon appeared in their lap, its ears perked up and purple tongue lolling out as it peeked over the edge of the table.  
On the other end, Piers leant forward with narrowed eyes.   
"Wait a minute, I know this guy."  
Theda's eyes widened in mild surprise.   
"You remember Garbageboy?"   
Piers snorted in amusement at the nickname, but nodded.   
"How could I forget the Impidimp that kicked my ass? What's up, little man, still takin' names?"  
The Impidimp shied back, its face disappearing again below the table.  
"He's a little shy," explained Theda, bent down and stroked its head while gently talking into its pointed ear.   
"It's okay, Garbageboy. Piers is reliable and kind, and he knows his way around Dark types. I'm sure you will be friends in no time."  
The Pokémon cautiously surfaced far enough to peek over the edge of the table, and a little pride mixed into its trainer's voice.   
"There you go. Think you could help me with picking a milkshake flavor?"

While Garbageboy studied the menu with Theda's soft spoken guidance, Piers was left to fiddling with his choker and hoping that the champion didn't notice the heavy blush easily visible through his pale skin, which this time was completely unrelated to the heat of the stage.   
Given, at this point the two of them weren't strangers, but calling their relationship close would have been a clear overstatement. During their brief misadventures together, Theda had struck him as guarded, someone who calculated before taking action and seized control before trusting someone else with it - not only in strategic situations, but also in social ones, even when their counterpart was someone as sunny and amicable as Milo.   
And yet, they had called him - Piers, of all people - reliable and kind, and they had done so openly and honestly. Even their Pokémon who seemed to share its trainer's cautious nature had begun to relax around Piers after feeling their trust for him, and the former gym leader found himself unexpectedly floored by that observation - and how nice it felt.   
  
Less than a metre away, the warm candlelight cast Theda's smile in a soft glow.   
"Strawberry, you say?"  
Garbageboy uttered an enthusiastic, high pitched cry, which was answered with a chuckle.  
"Then strawberry it is."   
Piers gulped and tried to clear his head, reluctantly shaking off the magic of the moment to signal the waiter.

The Impidimp had stayed nestled in Theda's lap while the three had enjoyed their drinks, occasionally having its own treat via a requested second straw. There had been sampling between their strawberry and his dark chocolate, and after due consideration they had both agreed that determining one or the other as the culinary winner was impossible. The chef had been overjoyed.  
Garbageboy, albeit still a bit wary of Piers, appeared more than thrilled about the treat and was visibly having what Theda had with half a laughing fit dubbed 'a champion time', while Piers himself had found it hard not to agree with the Pokémon out loud.  
Knowing the evening was coming to an end was becoming more uncomfortable with every step that carried the two trainers closer to Spikemuth's main entrance.  
When they had finally slipped out through under the half-closed garage gate and the clear night air brushed around them, the champion turned to Piers with their hands folded and a smile he could tell effort had gone into. Not as captivating as their involuntary ones, but a gesture that didn't go by him.  
  
"Thank you, Piers. I had a wonderful time, and the café was stunning. I'm sorry you ended up treating me, sort of."  
"Tch, drop it already, won't you?"  
He shook his head and his three ponytails bobbed accordingly, but the little curve in the corner of his mouth gave away his appreciation.  
"You showed up, cheered like a champ and got me my well deserved break, right?"  
"Well... I can't argue with that."   
"See? You don't owe me shit. 'Sides, I didn't do that much to start with. You haven't even seen half of what Spikemuth has to offer yet."  
Theda felt the blood rush to their head, but they forced the words past their lips anyway. No burden was heavier than things left unsaid.   
"Then... maybe I'll have to visit again sometime."

As they spoke, Piers' eyes widened, then immediately narrowed, and suddenly the look he gave them was so serious that the champion secretly wished the earth would split and swallow them whole for their transgression.   
"Hold up a sec."  
Theda expected him to tell them he wasn't interested, plainly leave or even laugh at them. Instead Piers took a step closer, raised his hand to their face, slowly so as not to startle them, and swiped his thumb over their cheek in one small, gingerly motion.   
The champion looked up in utter confusion, and this time there was no mistaking it. His face was as red as their own, and he was clearly avoiding eye contact, his usually calm voice bordering abashed.  
"You had a little cream there."  
"Oh. Please forgive me, then."  
They answered Piers' absolutely clueless stare with a grin that would have given an Impidimp a run for its money.  
"We ended up in a sticky situation after all."

A moment passed until Piers recalled the words he had given them ontop of Hammerlocke Stadium, and joined in with the champion's cackling about their own joke.   
"I s'pose maybe I do have time for a sticky situation or two if you need me."  
"I won't hesitate, then!"  
"Crap," grinned Piers. "Playin' at that all this time, weren't you?"  
Theda smirked up at him.  
"Maybe."  
  
The momentary distraction only lasted so long, and with their awareness of the moment returned the flushed cheeks. Piers once again fidgeted with his choker, Theda nervously scratched their arm.  
"I better head out. Should at least try to get some sleep before tomorrow."  
"Anythin' special?"  
"Sort of. It's a mouthful, though…"  
  
The evening had gone by much faster than anticipated with the two of them happily lost in conversation about anything from Garbageboy's table manners to Piers' songwriting routines.  
Even now, there was so much left to tell.  
  
"All this chitchat and we haven't even caught up," they complained, shaking their head.  
The former gym leader grinned.  
"We completely forgot that, huh? Guess that means you're gonna have to stop by again. I mean, uh, Spikemuth is always happy to have the champion," he added.  
  
Right. The Champion.  
  
Theda's smile cracked just a little.  
"Thank you, Piers. I'll keep that in mind."

Free to roam while Babie carried them through the air north towards Circhester, Theda's mind was running rampant with shame and regret - how could they ever have gotten their hopes up about the nature of this meeting?  
A date?  
With Piers?  
Ridiculous.

They ought to be grateful for his friendship and nothing else, not disappointed like this, not fighting back tears. And about what - about an overall fun night between friends that had happened to end a bit formally?  
A fun night, during which one or two times, they had really thought-  
  
_No._  
They were a grown up, for goodness' sake. Not only that, they were the Champion of Galar - people had expectations for them, and that included Theda themselves. They couldn't let the payoff for their own stupidity get in the way of tomorrow.  
Their crush on him had always been misguided. All that was left to do now was to be grateful for his friendship and focus on their goal.  
  
Tomorrow.  
Tomorrow was what mattered.  
  
The frigid winds had begun to creep under their shirt. The Champion barely felt it.

**Author's Note:**

> Due to (for my standards, anyway) popular demand on tumblr, I'll be posting the fanfiction I'm writing for Piers and my Pokémon Trainer! Don't let these idiots fool you like they're fooling themselves, the pining won't last forever!
> 
> If you want to see art of them, seperately and as a couple, feel free to check out my tumblr (https://the-flying-beetle.tumblr.com/) or deviantart (https://www.deviantart.com/the-flying-beetle).
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this, let me know how you liked it!


End file.
